<p>is the financial aid amount for "base year" (1st year) more important than than the rest of the years? if so why? does financial aid after that only go down?</p>
<p>Need based financial aid is reapplied for annually. There really isn’t any more “importance” to your first year award than to subsequent years.</p>
<p>The only caveat is that some schools will not allow you to apply for institutional need based aid if you don’t do it as an incoming freshman. BUT this has nothing to do with the actual importance of the first year award.</p>
<p>thumper1, this is good to hear. It was my understanding also that the first year is so much more important than the subsequent years.</p>
<p>Last year my husband got a substantial bonus which made our first FAFSA EFC so high. So this year if he does not get a bonus and everything else remains the same, should I expect our EFC to go down?</p>
<p>We were told by D’s school that the grant she was offered this year is the maximum that will be offered in future years. I inferred that they mean regardless of future EFCs. I don’t know if other schools operate the same way.</p>
<p>midwstmom, that is very worrisome and hardly seems fair.
is this school one that meets full need?</p>
<p>We were told by D’s school that the grant she was offered this year is the maximum that will be offered in future years.</p>
<p>that sounds like a school that doesn’t promise to meet need. </p>
<p>Is the USanDiego? If so, then that school doesn’t meet need. The school may be telling families not to expect more money just because of an EFC change (since many do have an EFC when a second child goes to college…)</p>
<p>I had also wondered about the base year thing because our income can also be very variable. It would make sense that each year would be equally important because you have to file new FAFSA/Profile forms every year. </p>
<p>However, according to Kalman Chany in “Paying For College Without Going Broke” the base year is more important than the other years:
"“The base income year extends from January 1 of your child’s junior year in high school to December 31 of your child’s senior year in high school. This is when first impressions are formed. The college will get an idea of how much you are likely to be able to afford, not just for the first year of school, but for the remaining years as well. First impressions are likely to endure and are often very difficult to change. Thus it would be helpful to remove as much income as possible from this calendar year.” (Page 48 of the newest edition).</p>
<p>So, at least according to him, the base year is somehow given more weight than the other years by fin aid officers.</p>
<p>By the way, to any of you who are new to this process, that is an excellent book on financial aid. It only costs about $11 on Amazon.</p>
<p>(Disclosure: I was having dinner with my brother several months ago and since he also has a kid who is applying for colleges I was lecturing on all of the intricacies of financial aid that I’ve had to learn, and I mentioned how helpful that book is. My brother, a Manhattan attorney, said, “Oh is that Kal’s book? He was at my party last year.” It was like being told that my brother is friends with a major rock star…)</p>
<p>^^^</p>
<p>At schools that are “need aware” or who don’t “meet need” that could be an issue.</p>
<p>I imagine at such schools, they might not give more for following years if the see a drop in EFC. They may think that someone “spent all their college money” the first year and now wants the next 3 years paid for.</p>
<p>YMMV depending on the college. DD’s college did NOT meet full need. Her grant was not a sizable one her freshman year (we didn’t have significant need). BUT each year, her grant increased by the same percentage as the increase in the college’s costs. We were surprised but very happy with that. Note, our financial situation actually improved over the four years and her EFC went UP for her soph and junior years…and then doubled for her senior year. She still got that extra 3-5% increase on her grant each year.</p>
<p>This is NOT what I think is the norm and we were very surprised by this each year.</p>
<p>megmo,</p>
<p>I may be wrong but the Profile is only submitted during the first year, is it not?</p>
<p>At my kid’s school (RPI) it was only submitted the first year, but I was under the impression that elsewhere it has to be filled out annually.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>It depends on the school. We only had to do it once for DS (but he had merit aid only). We had to do it ALL four years for DD. I gotta say…I don’t miss that at all.</p>
<p>Yes, school I mentioned is USD. They do not meet full need (unless you count Parent Plus loans). This will be our first year in college so I only mentioned it as a single data point. I hope we do at least see an increase to keep up with the COA as thumper said.</p>
<p>My D school does not meet full need and I was under the understanding that the first year of Asking and filing for FA is the most important. The following years seem to be based on what was given the first year. My EFC went down by about 4000 dollars one year and the award never changed. So I am leary thinking that things will change.</p>
<p>^^^^</p>
<p>I think that at schools that don’t meet need (and don’t give much need-based aid), you get what you’re going to get the first year and there aren’t much/any increases unless you drop to Pell award amounts.</p>